Octave-coupler for accordions.



J. GALLEAZZI.

OGTAVB COUPLER FOB. AGGORDIONS.-

APPLICATION FILED SEPT.13, 1911. RENEWED AUG. 25, 1913.

1,075,207, Patented Oct. 7, 1913.

4 SHEETSSHEET 1.

coLuMBu PLANOGRAPH 60., WASHINGTON. D. c.

J. GALLEAZZI.

OGTAVE COUPLER FOR AGGORDIONS.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 13, 1911. RENEWED AUG. 25, 1913.

1,075,207, Patented 0013. 7, 1913.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

ea Z 2; 22 l'l 22 8 w @O0O00@00O@ (DQ006900 CDCDOC)- J. GALLEAZZI.

OUTAVE COUPLER FOR AGGORDIONS. APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 13, 1911. RENEWED AUG. 25, 1913.

1,075,207. Patented Oct. 7, 1913.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

f'lG-7 COLUMBIA PLANUGRAIH CO.,\VI\$HINGTON, n c

J. GALLEAZZI.

OGTAVE GOUPLER FOR AOOORDIONS.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 13, 1911. RENEWED AUG. 25, 1913.

1,075,207, Patented 0013. 7, 1913.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 4.

INVENTOH WITNESSES COLUMBIA PLANOGRAPH C(L.\\'ASHINGTON. b. c.

UNITED STATES PATENT ormon.

JOSEPH GALLEAZZI, OF SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA.

OCTAVE-COUPLER' FOR ACCORDIONS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed September 13, 1911, Serial No. 649,113. Renewed August 25, 1913. Serial No. 786,639.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JosErI-I GALLEAZZI, a citizen of the UnitedStates, residing at San Francisco, in the county of San Francisco and State of California, have invented new and useful Improvements in Octave-Couplers for Accordions, of which the following is a specification. i

The present invention relates to improvements in musical instruments, such as accordions, played by keys, and the object of the invention is to provide, in such instrument, means whereby a plurality of octaves may be sounded by the playing of a single key thereof.

In the accompanying drawing, Figure 1 is a broken plan view of a sounding board of an accordion constructed in accordance with my invention; Fig. 2 is a sectional view through the sounding board, showing the key board in side elevation, parts of said key board being omitted; Fig. 3 is a plan view of a shifter; Fig. 4 is a broken side view of a shifter plate and a rock shaft connected thereto; Figs. 5 and 6 are detail views in different positions showing mechanism for actuating valves; Fig. 7 is a broken sectional view of the sounding board, with parts in a changed position; Figs. 8, 9, and 10 are views similar to Fig. 7 of the parts in changed positions; Fig. 11 is a perspective view of one of the valves; Fig. 12 is a broken plan view of a sounding board of a modification of my invention showing the lower part of the key board in section; Fig. 13 is a transverse section through the latter sounding board on the line 1313 of Fig. 12; Figs. 14,15 and 16 are detail broken sectional views of the latter sounding board showing the parts in various positions.

Referring to the drawings, 1 indicates the frame of an accordion, to which is secured a sounding board 2 and a key board 8. Pivoted, as shown at 4, on said key board and movable in grooves 5 therein, are key levers 6, having keys 7, arranged in three rows, the successive keys of each row being arranged, as hereinafter described, to actuate valvesto produce notes at intervals of a tone and a half. From the lower portion of each lever there extends a. pin 8, which presses against the upper portion, of a bell crank lever 9, to the upper end of which is secured a socket 10, in which is received one end of an actuator rod 11, all of said actuator rods extending over the sounding board parallel with each other, and their other ends passing through apertures 12 in a longitudinal fixed plate 13, said ends projecting through said apertures being bent to form crank arms 14, and passing through slots 15 in a shifter plate 16. moved by a knob 17.

The sounding board is formed with holes 20 adjacent to reeds, notshown, the adjacent holes of each row being adjacent to reeds capable of producing notes at an interval of a tone and a half. All of said holes 20 are closed by spring-actuated valves 21, having upwardly extending tails 22, which are adapted to be actuated by lugs 23 on the actuator rods 11, there being three such lugs on each rod, corresponding to the several.

valves over which said rod extends. Said lugs depend in a general downward direction from said rods, but at different angles therefrom, one, in the normal position of the rod, extending directly downward and the other two on opposite sides of the vertical. All of said rods are turned in unison by shifting the shifter plate 16 in one direction or the other. In any position of said shifter plate, one lug on each rod engages some one of the valves, but, on shifting said shifter plate, said lugs thus engaging the valves are moved out of engagement therefrom, and another lug on each actuator rod is brought into engagement with another valve previously engaged by a lug on another actuator rod. By this means a piece of music may be played half a tone higher or lower than before, although using the same keys.

Secured on the back of the key board are studs 24. on which slides a plate 25 having preferably secured thereto a strong bent wire 26 serving as a handle to conveniently operate the plate. through grooves 27 in the lower edge of which plate can pass crank arms 28 extending laterally from vertical rods 29 capable of rocking in bearings 30, on the back of the key board, the lower end of which rods 29 are formed into crank arms 31, which'are bent downward and forked at their extreme ends, each forked portion receiving an upwardly extending edge 33 of a channel-shaped plate 34 supported on a portion 34 of the frame of the accordion, and movable thereon. Thus, by moving said plate 25, said plate 34 can be moved transversely of said portion 34 to or from the sounding board. Upon said. plate 34 are secured bearings 35 in which can rock oblique shafts 36, each having arms 37, 38, extending from its ends. Said oblique rock shafts are of such length than an arm 37 on one end of each shaft is adapted to be engaged by the key corresponding to one note, and the arm 38 on the other end of said shaft to engage the bell crank lever 9- to actuate the note at an interval of an octave therefrom, th reby producing an octave.

From the lower end of each key lever there extends downwardly and away from the sounding board an arm When said plate 25 is moved in such a direction that the plate 34-, with the rock shafts thereon, is moved away from the sounding board, then,

upon the actuation of the key levers, the

arms 39 can be rocked without actuating said arms 37, butwhen said plate 34 has been moved toward said sounding board, and a key lever is actuated, the corresponding arm 39 engages the arm 3'7, and rocks said shaft, causing the arm 38 on the other end of said shaft to be rocked. and engage the lower arm 40 of the corresponding hell crank lever 9, thereby actuating said bell crank lever 9, so that the corresponding ac- I tuator rod is actuated, thereby sounding the corresponding note and thus producing an octave. Above said valves extend longitudinal channel-bars 40 secured at their ends to plates 41, which plates can slide transversely upon supports 42, being guided by screws 43 screwed into said supports and passed through slots 44 in said plates. In

said channel-bars are arranged obliquely;

rock shafts 45, each rock shaft having one terminal portion extended upwardly to form an arm 4-6 adapted to be engaged by a henzontal arm 47 extendmg from the bar 22*, i

when the actuator rod is moved to open the valve to cause the corresponding reed sound. The other end of said rock shaft 45 is bent at right angles to said channel bar,

but in the plane thereof, to form an arm 48 which, at its juncture with the shaft 45, passes through ahcle 5G in a side of said 1 channel bar,

he projecting terminal portion 51 thus aro'ectin th oiwh said hole 7 l '3 b 3 passlng through a yoke or staple 52 secured on said valve. Said shaft 45 is of such I a length that the valve which is thus raised by said arm 48 governs the reed which pro duccs a tone at an interval of an octave from that corresponding with the actuator rod which moves the arm 46 at the other end of 1 said shaft.

suitable device 56, so that the arm 59 is thus raised or lowered (see lhgs. 1, 2, 8, 9).

Said arm 59 engages an arm 60 which passes through a hole 61 in an extension 62 from the LCl]Q.CQX1t plate 41, and is attached to a rock shaft 63, which extends the length of the accordion, the other end of said shaft being provided with a similar arm, engaging a similar extension from the other plate 41. Tv hen said rock shaft 58 is rocked, to raise the arm 59, said plates 41 are moved inwardly toward the key board, (Fig. 8) and in this position the upwardly extend ing arms 4-6 are closely adjacent to the arms 4-7, so that, upon depressing the key levers and operating the actuator rods, said arms 47 immediately move said arms 46, and the rock shafts 4-5, and octaves are sounded. But when the rock shaft 58 is operated in the reverse direction so that the arm 59 is depressedfthen the plates 41 move away from the key board, so that, when the actuator rods are moved, the arms 4'? do not impinge against said upwardly extending arms 46 and the octaves are not sounded.

By the above described means, therefore, I may produce, by the actuation of a single key, two octaves, namely, the octave above and the octave below the note corresponding to the actuated key. At the same time either of these octaves may be omitted, if desired.

in Figs. 12 to 16 I show a modification of the invention in which only one octave is produced for each key. In this modification, the bell crank levers 9 are omitted, and, instead thereof, pins 60 extend from the lower portions of the key levers 6, and enter sockets 61' connected to the lower ends of the actuator rods 11. Said actuator rods are flattened at their other ends, as shown at 62, and said flattened portions have slots 63 which engage screws ()4 attached to the tails of the valves 21.

It is obvious that, with the above construction, when any key lever 6 is actuated, it causes to be lifted, not only the valve 21 of the corresponding note, but, as shown in 15, by means of the arm 46, shaft 45 and arm 4-8, the valve of the octave of that note. However, as seen in Fig. 16, the lifting of the valve by the arm 48 does not produce any movement of the actuator rod 11, and therefore does not rock the shaft 45 or lift the valve of a second octave.

I claim 1. The combination of a sounding board having a row of openings therethrough, valves for closing said openings, a row of key levers, actuato rods, devices for transmitting motion from the key levers to the actuator rods, devices on the actuator rods for actuating said valves, a series of longitudinal rock shafts, each rock shaft having two arms, a device on each actuator rod located to engage one of said arms, devices each carried by one of said valves and located to be engaged and actuated by the other arm of one of said rock shafts, a sec- 0nd series of longitudinal rock shafts, each having two arms, and projections from the key levers, each locatedto engage and actuate one arm of said rock shafts, the other arm of said rock shaft, when the shaft is rocked, being located to engage and actuate an actuator rod different from that directly actuated by said lever.

2. The combination of a sounding board having a row of openings therethrough, valves for closing said openings, a row of key levers, actuator rods, devices for transmitting motion from the key levers to the actuator rods, devices on the actuator rods for actuating said valves, a series of longitudinal rock shafts, each rock shaft having two arms, a device on each actuator rod located to engage one of said arms, devices each carried by one of said valves and located to be engaged and actuated by the other arm of one of said rock shafts, a second series of longitudinal rock shafts, each having two arms, projections from the key levers, each located to engage and actuate one arm of said rock shafts, the other arm of said rock shaft, when the shaft is rocked, being located to engage and actuate an actuator rod different from that directly actuated by said lever, and means for shifting said first series to render them inoperative when desired.

3. The combination of a sounding board having a row of openings therethrough, valves for closing said openings, a row of key levers, actuator rods, devices for transmitting motion from the key levers to the actuator rods, devices on the actuator rods for actuating said valves, a series of longi tudinal rock shafts, each rock shaft having two arms, a device on each actuator rod located to engage one of said arms, devices each carried by one of said valves and located to be engaged and actuated by the other arm of one of said rock shafts, a second series of longitudinal rock shafts, each having two arms, projections from the key levers, each located to engage and actuate one arm of said rock shafts, the other arm of said rock shaft, when the shaft is rocked, being located to engage and actuate an actuator rod different from that directly actuated by said lever, and means for shifting said second series to render them inoperative when desired.

4. The combination of a sounding board having a row of openings therethrough, valves for closing said openings, a row of key levers, actuator rods, devices for transmitting motion from the key levers to the actuator rods, devices on the actuator rods for actuating said valves, a series of longitudinal rock shafts, each rock shaft having two arms, a device on each actuator rod 10- cated to engage-one of said arms, devices each carried by one of said valves and located to be engaged and actuated by the other arm of one of said rock shafts, a second series of longitudinal rock shafts, each having two arms, projections from the key levers, each located to engage and actuate one arm of said rock shafts, the other arm of said rock shaft, when the shaft is rocked, being located to engage and actuate an actuatorl rod different from that directly actuated by said lever, and means for shifting both series to render them inoperative when desired.

5. The combination of a sounding board having a plurality of parallel rows of openings therethrough, valves for controlling said openings, a row of key levers, actuator rods extending over said sounding board transverse to the row of openings therethrough, operative connections between said actuator rods and corresponding valves, operative connect-ions between said key levers and corresponding actuator rods, a series of devices, each operatively related to one of said valves to be actuated thereby and operatively connected with another valve to operate the same when so actuated, and a second series of devices, each operatively connected with one of said key levers to be actuated thereby, and operatively connected with an actuator rod to operate the same when so actuated.

6. The combination of a sounding board having a plurality of parallel rows of openings therethrough, valves for controlling said openings, a row of key levers, actuator rods extending over said sounding board transversely to the row of openings therethrough, operative connections between said actuator rods and corresponding valves, operative connections between said key levers and corresponding actuator rods, a series of devices each operatively related to one of said valves to be actuated thereby and operatively connected with another valve to operate the same when so actuated, and a second series of devices, each operatively connected with one of said key levers to be actuated thereby, and operatively connected with an actuator rod to operate the same when so actuated, and means for rendering either series of devices inoperative as desired.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

JOSEPH GALLEAZZI.

Witnesses Francis M. WVmGH'r, D. B. RICHARDS.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner 01' Patents,

Washington, D. C. 

